For something so biologically trivial, hair carries an awful lot of weight. Whether it’s a modern symbol of youth, health or beauty, the presence – or absence – of hair can shape how we see ourselves, and how we think others see us.
So why does hair matter so much to us?
Dr Fabio Zucchelli, a psychologist at the University of the West of England and researcher at the Centre for Appearance Research, says it may stem from a deep-rooted urge to conform.
“If you’re thinking about it from an evolutionary psychology standpoint, then people argue that we have this innate need or desire to be a part of a group,” he explains. In other words, we’re driven to belong – and when hair starts thinning, it can feel like we’re drifting away from the norm.
But our attitudes towards hair aren’t completely fixed. Far from it. “Many of those ideas of what we’re meant to look like are socially constructed – they’re not innate,” Zucchelli says. “What constitutes being attractive will vary from generation to generation, and even within a generation.”
Indeed, throughout many parts of history – from ancient Egypt to the 18th century, to the people of Issini (modern-day Ghana) – baldness, particularly male baldness, appears to be revered.
Today, says Zucchelli, hair is often tied to youthfulness – and with that, to attractiveness and social value. For women, that can mean hair is often linked to femininity and beauty; for men, it can symbolise virility and youth.
There’s little wonder, then, that the hair restoration industry is booming. Worth $6.5bn (approx. £5.23bn) in 2023, it’s forecast to grow quickly between now and 2030. And this means there’s a powerful incentive to treat baldness as something to be cured.
“To my mind, the medicalisation of hair loss is reinforcing the problem,” Zucchelli says.
“These treatments are becoming more and more effective – but also more expensive. Hair loss is becoming something that needs fixing, and the hair restoration industry is more than happy to perpetuate that idea.”
But whether baldness needs ‘fixing’ is ultimately up to you. For many people, it’s simply another chapter in life’s story, not a flaw to erase. And if you choose not to – or can’t – pursue restoration treatments, there are still plenty of proven ways to feel confident and comfortable in your own skin.
1. Focus on function
A helpful strategy is to reframe how you think about your body. Instead of zooming in on what your body looks like, shift your focus to what your body does.
For example, skin helps keep us safe from infection and regulates our temperature. Hair, too, plays a role in insulation and sweat evaporation.
You don’t need to romanticise it – but simply acknowledging a body part’s biological function can nudge your mindset towards acceptance.
“If we can adopt a more positive body image, that can help protect us against some of the struggles with hair loss,” Zucchelli explains.
“This can be done through things like writing interventions, which help you think about what your body can do.”
One such programme that takes this approach is Expand Your Horizon, developed by Dr Jessica Alleva and colleagues at Maastricht University, in the Netherlands.
The science-backed method encourages people to write about their bodies from a functionality-based perspective, honing in on things like physical capabilities and internal processes.
One exercise will see you writing for at least 15 minutes without stopping (you can go for longer, if you like) on the functions related to your body’s senses and sensations rather than just its appearance.
Studies have shown it works.
“Following the intervention, participants in the Expand Your Horizon programme experienced greater appearance satisfaction, functionality satisfaction, and body appreciation, along with lower levels of self-objectification,” Alleva and her colleagues reported in the journal Body Image following a randomised controlled trial they conducted back in 2015.
The goal isn’t self-love, but self-neutrality – reducing self-objectification and improving body image without needing to fall in love with the mirror.
“A misstep people make is thinking you have to love yourself,” says Zucchelli. “Actually, that isn’t for everyone. It may be unrealistic to feel like you have to love your appearance the whole time.
“It’s more about gaining hair neutrality – accepting rather than needing to love it. Self-love can be a bit off-putting, especially for some men. Acceptance is the key piece.”
2. Build media literacy
One way to ease the emotional weight of hair loss is to rethink where your ideas about it come from.
“We have to take a really critical lens to everything we’re absorbing,” Zucchelli says. “It’s essentially about trying to raise awareness of just how externally influenced your ideas of hair loss are.”
This idea is called media literacy – becoming aware of the forces that shape our body image, from ads and algorithms to celebrity culture, friends and even our family.
“The hair loss industry is worth billions,” says Glen Jankowski, an assistant professor in health and social psychology at University College Dublin whose research focuses on men’s body image.
“It’s growing rapidly every year. And it’s also unfortunately got a lot of legitimacy through regulatory approval of some of the key products like finasteride, minoxidil and hair transplantation.”
This influence, Jankowski says, has seeped into both the media and the internet, meaning that many seemingly impartial sources are, in reality, adverts or promotions for treatments disguised as information.
To guard against this, he recommends being alert to any commercial connections behind the hair loss content you read or watch.
“A really simple thing is when you’re reading research or a journalistic article, check if there’s a sponsorship or link to a company,” Jankowski says.
“That can sometimes be a clear disclosure at the start, or it can be that an article heavily quotes an employee of a particular business.”
More formal tools like the DISCERN Questionnaire from the University of Oxford can help evaluate the quality of written information on health treatments.
It’s a short list of 16 questions that helps you work out if the information about a treatment is balanced, backed by evidence, and upfront about both the risks and the benefits – and to spot when something might be biased or one-sided.
Questions include:
- Is it clear what sources of information were used to compile the article?
- Is it clear that there may be more than one possible treatment choice?
- Does the article describe how each treatment works?
Beyond articles, our online spaces are filled with algorithmically targeted ads. One search for hair loss treatment can trigger a wave of adverts for weeks.
Even if you’re not planning to reduce your time on social media, most platforms allow you to adjust your ad preferences so certain topics or ads don’t keep appearing.
Zucchelli describes this awareness of the media we consume as a “protective shield” for our body image – one that allows you to step back and ask: ‘Why do I feel this way? Who benefits from my insecurity?’ Sometimes, simply recognising the answer can be liberating.
“It can be really empowering for people,” Zucchelli adds.
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3. Find others going through it
Hair loss can feel isolating, but you’re far from alone. Balding is not a rare misfortune but a near-universal part of human ageing.
Androgenetic alopecia – the most common form of hair loss, otherwise known as pattern balding – affects around 50 per cent of men and women over the ages of 50 and 65, respectively.
And despite what you might sometimes feel, bald men are everywhere – from celebrities like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Jude Law, to your uncle or that man down the pub insisting he “used to have hair like Jon Bon Jovi.”
“I call these men the ‘hidden men of baldness’ because, once you dig, you find them everywhere,” Jankowski says.
“Historically, there are countless examples of very successful bald men – from Churchill to many ancient Egyptians.”
Factor in other types of hair loss – such as alopecia areata (an autoimmune condition that causes patchy bald spots), scarring alopecia (where inflammation damages hair follicles, leading to permanent loss) and chemotherapy-induced alopecia – and it quickly becomes clear that well over half of us are living with some degree of hair loss.
People with hair loss aren’t the minority. They’re the majority. And connecting with that majority can make a real difference.
“For some people, they might be able to speed up the acceptance process by speaking with others in a similar stage of hair loss,” Zucchelli says.
Online forums and support groups can be helpful, especially if you don’t know anyone personally who’s going through it or experiencing the same challenges.
But tread carefully: peer support isn’t perfect. Zucchelli warns that some people may be desperately seeking or promoting medical solutions, and it can also sometimes reinforce the comparison of oneself to others.
The key is finding spaces where empathy and honesty outweigh competition or sales pitches.
“Reach out to others and discuss your experiences, because you can build solidarity really quickly,” Jankowski says.
4. Get professional support if you need it
Unfortunately, even with the tools above, hair loss can occasionally have an impact on mental health. When it starts to feel overwhelming, speaking to a mental health professional can help you work through those feelings and find practical ways to cope.
Zucchelli highlights Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as particularly useful. This approach teaches people to accept difficult thoughts and feelings without self-judgment, and to take purposeful action in line with their values.
A key part of ACT is learning to recognise thoughts as just that – thoughts, not facts – especially misguided ones, such as the idea that baldness might harm your romantic prospects. By creating distance from these unhelpful beliefs, you can respond more in line with what truly matters to you.
One common ACT technique for seeing your thoughts as just thoughts is to notice one and label it – for example: ‘I’m having the thought that my bald spot is obvious.’
The ACT framework can also help manage unwanted attention or questions about your appearance by equipping you to prepare and control your responses, sharing as much, or as little, as you feel comfortable.
ACT isn’t the only talking therapy that can help with hair loss. CBT can tackle unhelpful thoughts, counselling can provide space to process emotions, and group therapy can connect you with people who understand exactly what you’re going through.
5. Give it time
Finally, be patient with yourself. Losing your hair is a kind of loss – and grief is a normal response.
“You might just need a bit of time to get your head around the changes – that’s totally normal,” Zucchelli says.
Often, people find the process of balding difficult, but once that process has reached its endpoint, things get a little easier. Eventually, that new version of you in the mirror becomes just, well, you.
And, as Jankowski points out, lots of happy older bald men know the truth: “the actual loss of hair is often quite trivial.”
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